This is based on the life of music hall star George Laybourne, tracking his rise from singing in pubs to becoming one of the top entertainers of his day. Although the competition over who had the better drinking song between Laybourne and rival The Great Vance (Stanley Holloway, obviously thoroughly relishing the role) did supposedly take place, the film isn't overly accurate historically and does skim over detail somewhat. On the positive side, this does make room for more songs and the film packs in plenty with the numbers being infectiously catchy and marvellously well delivered. Sadly, this seems to be a somewhat forgotten Ealing film, which is a shame as it gives excellent insight into a decidedly odd, but enjoyable looking form of particularly British entertainment now consigned to history.
11 Reviews
Entertaining insight into the jolly side of Victorian England.
hitchcockthelegend4 March 2008
Yes it is perhaps one of Ealing Studios forgotten films, but that really shouldn't surprise too much since it is a very acquired taste, and something of a curio piece to those not familiar with the source of the story. The film is a quaint look at mid Victorian musical halls and the people who frequented such establishments, it shows in earnest just what wonderful places they were for people to escape to. The songs come thick and fast and are all jolly numbers that can't help to lift the spirits, but chiefly central to the films above average rating is the rivalry between the two main players in the piece. Stanley Holloway and Tommy Trinder sing for different musical halls, and it is this story arc that makes for much fun culminating in a quite daft but delightful duel sequence.
The film came in for some criticism due to it not portraying the dank and miserable side of mid Victorian England, but as George Perry says on his introduction to the DVD of the film, "it really is all about escapism", not only for the people back then who sought fun there, but also for us the viewers, 7/10.
The film came in for some criticism due to it not portraying the dank and miserable side of mid Victorian England, but as George Perry says on his introduction to the DVD of the film, "it really is all about escapism", not only for the people back then who sought fun there, but also for us the viewers, 7/10.
A marvelous re-creation of mid-Victorian music halls, with two great entertainers, Tommy Trinder and Stanley Holloway
Terrell-415 February 2008
Nostalgia is everything it's cracked up to be in Champagne Charlie, a valentine from Ealing Studios and Alberto Cavalcanti to English music halls. Ostensibly, it's the story of George Leybourne (Tommy Trinder) and his rivalry with Alfred Vance, the Great Vance (Stanley Holloway), in the music halls of mid-Victorian England. The music halls hadn't yet become the more respectable theaters of England, from which they lasted in full glory until television appeared. In the 1860s they usually were big ale houses, unsophisticated drinking and singing establishments for the working man and his lady. In this movie's view, they were often rambunctious, loud, jolly and great fun, where the swells often showed up to see the latest entertainment, which included young dancers, and everyone joined in the songs. There's a smattering of a plot beyond the rivalry (which includes a ludicrous duel at one point between the equally nervous Leybourne and Vance) involving attempts to close the music halls down and a romance between a duke's son and the daughter of Bessie Bellwood (Betty Warren), a music hall owner and singer who employs Leybourne.
The interest is in the the story of Leybourne, who becomes Champagne Charlie. He's played with enthusiasm and great cheer by Tommy Trinder, who was a hugely popular stage and later radio entertainer in the Thirties, Forties and Fifties. Trinder was a tall Cockney with a long face, round eyes, a lot of teeth and personality to spare. The first 50 minutes of the movie, in fact, is largely Trinder and Holloway performing song after song in the gas-lit music halls, always strutting their best stuff as they try to out-perform each other with drinking songs and stage power. It's a grand show, with the ale flowing, the smoky atmosphere, crowds of warm bodies having a great time...it's good cheer all around even with the plot. Hearing and seeing Trinder prance about performing Champagne Charlie; Hit Him on the Boko; Ale Old Ale; Burgundy, Claret and Port; I'm One of the Brandy and Seltzer Boys; and Everything Will Be Lovely...or hearing and seeing Holloway sell Strolling in the Park; I Do Like a Little Drop of Gin; Rum, Rum, Rum; A Glass of Sherry Wine; and Hunting After Dark...is to wish you were back there, too, downing a pint and singing with them.
If it had been possible in war-time Britain for this movie to have been made in Technicolor, Champagne Charlie would not be the forgotten museum piece it has become. The settings in the music halls cry out for lush color. For those who love English music halls, try Lost Empires. It's a multi-part TV miniseries from 1986 based on the novel by J. B. Priestly. It tells the story of Richard Herndon, played by Colin Firth, who joins his uncle for a year of touring on the Empire music hall circuit before WWI starts. Lawrence Olivier in his next to last theatrical appearance plays an aging song-and-dance man long past his prime. Lost Empires is a fine drama which expertly recreates the atmosphere and the acts.
The interest is in the the story of Leybourne, who becomes Champagne Charlie. He's played with enthusiasm and great cheer by Tommy Trinder, who was a hugely popular stage and later radio entertainer in the Thirties, Forties and Fifties. Trinder was a tall Cockney with a long face, round eyes, a lot of teeth and personality to spare. The first 50 minutes of the movie, in fact, is largely Trinder and Holloway performing song after song in the gas-lit music halls, always strutting their best stuff as they try to out-perform each other with drinking songs and stage power. It's a grand show, with the ale flowing, the smoky atmosphere, crowds of warm bodies having a great time...it's good cheer all around even with the plot. Hearing and seeing Trinder prance about performing Champagne Charlie; Hit Him on the Boko; Ale Old Ale; Burgundy, Claret and Port; I'm One of the Brandy and Seltzer Boys; and Everything Will Be Lovely...or hearing and seeing Holloway sell Strolling in the Park; I Do Like a Little Drop of Gin; Rum, Rum, Rum; A Glass of Sherry Wine; and Hunting After Dark...is to wish you were back there, too, downing a pint and singing with them.
If it had been possible in war-time Britain for this movie to have been made in Technicolor, Champagne Charlie would not be the forgotten museum piece it has become. The settings in the music halls cry out for lush color. For those who love English music halls, try Lost Empires. It's a multi-part TV miniseries from 1986 based on the novel by J. B. Priestly. It tells the story of Richard Herndon, played by Colin Firth, who joins his uncle for a year of touring on the Empire music hall circuit before WWI starts. Lawrence Olivier in his next to last theatrical appearance plays an aging song-and-dance man long past his prime. Lost Empires is a fine drama which expertly recreates the atmosphere and the acts.
Amazing
barter20092 June 2009
every time i watch this film i find it plain amazing. It's a light entertainment of the highest class. The music and the performance are superb, i always catch myself humming the tunes afterward. Surely the best of the film are Tommy Trinder and Stanley Holloway, but it's also the finest performance of Betty Warren. I assume that the ale-houses, as they are shown in the film, would be an origin of the karaoke evenings in our age. I also like the tiny hint to the Andersen's tale, when the mother and the daughter are admiring a mechanical toy. it's a shame that Cavalcanti left England so soon after making this film. He was like a rising star on the cinematic firmament, and he let the actors do their best. Enjoy it!
The Good Old Days
dsewizzrd-121 March 2014
There's a lot of Victorian music hall songs in this film about a man who travels from Leybourne in the north down to London to help his brother get a job in a boxing ring. After he sings a song in a bar ("an 'alf of 'alf an' 'alf"), he is taken on as a singer and later gets a job in a music hall, which is a dinner theatre, not like on "The Good Old Days". A parliamentary enquiry aims to shut down music halls for intemperate behaviour. Stanley Holloway is "The Great Vance", a rival in another music hall. Songs include "Don't bring shame on the old folks", the risqué "Come On Algernon", "'it 'im on the boko", "Strolling in the park" , then a series of drink related songs (which all sound very similar) - "Ale, old ale", "I like a drop of gin", "Burgundy, claret and port", "Yo ho ho rum", "The brandy and seltzer boys", "A glass of sherry wine", and the title "Champagne Charlie". Then "The daring young man on the flying trapeeze", and the risqué "Hunting after dark", and "By and by".
The night they invented Champagne Charlie, it was not a little bit of luck for the veteran performer.
mark.waltz26 August 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Some actors are so associated with one role that because of the lack of availability of their other films, people are unaware of their longevity in the entertainment field. Such was the case for Stanley holloway, so associated with his role in "My Fair Lady" that other films of his are up even though he has appeared in quite a few British classics. Here he's a veteran music hall performer so well known for his performing of songs about drinking that when the young Tommy Trinder comes along, Holloway is upset and demands that he change his act. But by this time, the young Trinder has becoming even more successful than Holloway so any attempt to change his act is met with public fury.
While the world of the music hall has passed into obscurity like burlesque and vaudeville (snippets of which are still utilized in shows and movies about that era), the nostalgia of that bygone era always provides a colorful look at past trends in entertainment. Trinder's persona reminds me of that later Tommy (Steele), and while I haven't been crazy about other films of his, I found him enjoyable to watch in this one. Perhaps it is because this focuses on British music friends than classic British styles of humor (still present but in smaller doses) that he's more watchable, a formidable foe for Holloway who gives a good indication of his character's working class background even when he's imitating a working-class character in gentleman attire.
The film itself is extremely dated and will be of curiosity mainly to students of theatrical history, British cinema and various trends in comedy and music. It's a lavish production that could have benefited from color, but considering that it was made during wartime, budget most likely did not allow it. The supporting cast features some terrific characters, mainly Betty Warren and Jean Kent as the music hall owner and her daughter whom Trinder is in love with. This definitely was one of Ealing's big A films of the war era. The songs aren't really memorable but are the type of songs that haven't fared well outside of the music hall scene, more accessible for the working class, an aspect of the business that is dealt with through legitimate theaters protesting music halls.
While the world of the music hall has passed into obscurity like burlesque and vaudeville (snippets of which are still utilized in shows and movies about that era), the nostalgia of that bygone era always provides a colorful look at past trends in entertainment. Trinder's persona reminds me of that later Tommy (Steele), and while I haven't been crazy about other films of his, I found him enjoyable to watch in this one. Perhaps it is because this focuses on British music friends than classic British styles of humor (still present but in smaller doses) that he's more watchable, a formidable foe for Holloway who gives a good indication of his character's working class background even when he's imitating a working-class character in gentleman attire.
The film itself is extremely dated and will be of curiosity mainly to students of theatrical history, British cinema and various trends in comedy and music. It's a lavish production that could have benefited from color, but considering that it was made during wartime, budget most likely did not allow it. The supporting cast features some terrific characters, mainly Betty Warren and Jean Kent as the music hall owner and her daughter whom Trinder is in love with. This definitely was one of Ealing's big A films of the war era. The songs aren't really memorable but are the type of songs that haven't fared well outside of the music hall scene, more accessible for the working class, an aspect of the business that is dealt with through legitimate theaters protesting music halls.
An enjoyable slice of old fashioned British escapism
snoozejonc18 January 2021
The rivalry between George Laybourne and The Great Vance in the music hall era.
I enjoyed this for its affectionate look into a bygone era of British culture, it's amusing characters and impressive set pieces.
The plot is a character-driven and fairly nonintrusive excuse to show a number of musical hall sequences and songs relating to the era. It is very much a film of two halves, with the rivalry between the two great musical hall stars in the first half and the struggle to keep the musical halls open taking focus in the second. A sub-plot involves a fairly uninspired romance.
There are a number of pub and musical hall set-pieces that work very well to capture the tone of the movie and it's subject matter. I found all these scenes highly entertaining. I try to imagine myself watching this in 1944 when the world was in devastation and in need of some positive escapism. It hardly feels authentic Victorian Britain, bit it certainly makes you want to go out, have a few drinks and enjoy yourself in a crowd of friends.
The songs are all good fun but pretty forgettable in the grand scheme of movie music. For me it's all the social settings, high energy, humour and enthusiasm that give it charm.
Performances are mixed, with charismatic stars Tommy Trinder and Stanley Holloway excellent as the above mentioned protagonists, but for me its Betty Warren who holds it altogether with a quite dominant turn as Bessie Bellwood. Most supporting roles are fairly uninspired, however Jean Kent does have a certain presence Dolly.
It's remarkable when you consider that this era depicts entertainment that predates radio broadcasting. Outside of church, this would have been a victorian equivalent of screen time. You look around at the world now and marvel at how much investment and technology has gone into providing people with that continual fix in the palm of their hand.
For me its 6.5/10, but I round upwards.
I enjoyed this for its affectionate look into a bygone era of British culture, it's amusing characters and impressive set pieces.
The plot is a character-driven and fairly nonintrusive excuse to show a number of musical hall sequences and songs relating to the era. It is very much a film of two halves, with the rivalry between the two great musical hall stars in the first half and the struggle to keep the musical halls open taking focus in the second. A sub-plot involves a fairly uninspired romance.
There are a number of pub and musical hall set-pieces that work very well to capture the tone of the movie and it's subject matter. I found all these scenes highly entertaining. I try to imagine myself watching this in 1944 when the world was in devastation and in need of some positive escapism. It hardly feels authentic Victorian Britain, bit it certainly makes you want to go out, have a few drinks and enjoy yourself in a crowd of friends.
The songs are all good fun but pretty forgettable in the grand scheme of movie music. For me it's all the social settings, high energy, humour and enthusiasm that give it charm.
Performances are mixed, with charismatic stars Tommy Trinder and Stanley Holloway excellent as the above mentioned protagonists, but for me its Betty Warren who holds it altogether with a quite dominant turn as Bessie Bellwood. Most supporting roles are fairly uninspired, however Jean Kent does have a certain presence Dolly.
It's remarkable when you consider that this era depicts entertainment that predates radio broadcasting. Outside of church, this would have been a victorian equivalent of screen time. You look around at the world now and marvel at how much investment and technology has gone into providing people with that continual fix in the palm of their hand.
For me its 6.5/10, but I round upwards.
Champagne drinking is his game.
mfgen-consultant22 January 2005
This film is the nearest that Ealing Studios came to making a musical, but the final result is something quite different from that of MGM or Warner Bros. Imagine a full blooded b/w Victorian etching, lit by gas lamps and studded with glittering period detail. The songs are brash, catchy and bright. The direction by Cavancanti brings in his documentary realism with fast cutting, high and low angle shots - breaking with convention at every chance. The result of all this is that the film has hardly dated. It isn't well known, but it ought to be rediscovered. The photography sparkles and shines on carefully recreated 1860 London settings. If the film has a fault, it is that in trying to avoid formula, it often skips over details. For example, we aren't given time to understand how many of the songs are written. The title character was a real life singer - George Leybourne. Wartime comedian Tommy Trinder is obviously enjoying the part and Stanley Holloway provides strong support. In 1944 this film was designed to raise morale and generate goodwill. It still does.
Forgotten every song already
AAdaSC28 March 2010
Joe/George (Tommy Trinder) and the Great Vance (Stanley Holloway) have a Music-Hall rivalry in the ale-houses of Victorian England. When the theatre owners threaten to close down the music-halls, George and Vance come together to fight off the threat.
There is strangely no romance for the lead characters in this story. This is given to Jean Kent as "Dolly" to play out with some complete non-entity. It has relevance to the story but, unfortunately, the story isn't exactly gripping. We are subjected to lots of forgettable songs that all sound the same. The most memorable part of the film is an amusing section about a duel between the two main rivals and it is actually quite funny. Far better than the appalling attempt at making a humorous duel scene that was made by another British film, "Vice Versa", in 1948. "Champagne Charlie" passes the time, reminds us of a time now forgotten, and you will enjoy the film if you like boring sing-a-longs.
There is strangely no romance for the lead characters in this story. This is given to Jean Kent as "Dolly" to play out with some complete non-entity. It has relevance to the story but, unfortunately, the story isn't exactly gripping. We are subjected to lots of forgettable songs that all sound the same. The most memorable part of the film is an amusing section about a duel between the two main rivals and it is actually quite funny. Far better than the appalling attempt at making a humorous duel scene that was made by another British film, "Vice Versa", in 1948. "Champagne Charlie" passes the time, reminds us of a time now forgotten, and you will enjoy the film if you like boring sing-a-longs.
Music of the era
Igenlode Wordsmith28 August 2009
This must be the first time since the nineteenth century that the audience for a show could be heard to leave the building still humming 'Champagne Charlie' :-) (In fact, I did wonder if we were going to get some audience participation at one point -- I was on the verge of it myself -- and am curious as to whether sing-alongs ever happened during the original screenings.) This is a wonderful experience, with Tommy Trinder clearly in his element as music-hall entertainer George Leybourne: his singing voice clearly doesn't equal that of Stanley Holloway, but he can put over the songs so well that you can credit him as a serious competitor... if one can ever describe either of these two as 'serious'! Betty Warren is magnificent in every sense of the word, the very image (and figure) of a Victorian stage star, brimming with coquetry, charisma and sound business sense, and it's a pity that the only number featuring these three together gives her so little to do. A host of minor, unnamed but recurring characters bring the genial, raucous world of the music hall to life, with its flickering stage flares, its haze of smoke and its plentiful supply of drink.
But the true stars of the picture are surely the composers and lyricists who contributed the host of songs that enliven the soundtrack, the new music fitting seamlessly with such genuine period hits as "Champagne Charlie" and "The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze". The plot requires the rival stars to cap one another with song after song on the theme of alcohol, every one of which has to be a credible smash hit: with writers like Billy Mayerl and Noel Gay involved, plus the bravura delivery of the two vocalists, the audience both offscreen and on are completely convinced.
But the true stars of the picture are surely the composers and lyricists who contributed the host of songs that enliven the soundtrack, the new music fitting seamlessly with such genuine period hits as "Champagne Charlie" and "The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze". The plot requires the rival stars to cap one another with song after song on the theme of alcohol, every one of which has to be a credible smash hit: with writers like Billy Mayerl and Noel Gay involved, plus the bravura delivery of the two vocalists, the audience both offscreen and on are completely convinced.
Love it!
JohnHowardReid8 October 2017
Warning: Spoilers
Production supervisor: Hal Mason. Associate producer: John Croydon. Producer: Michael Balcon. Photography: Wilkie Cooper. Film editor: Charles Hasse. Art director: Michael Relph. Original songs from the 1860s including "The Man on the Flying Trapeze", "Champagne Charlie" and "Strolling in the Park" by Alfred Lee, George Leybourne. New songs and lyrics by Una Barr, T.E.B. Clarke, Lord Berners, Noel Gay, Frank Eyton, Billy Mayerl, Angus Macphail. Music director: Ernest Irving.
An Ealing Studios (London) Production. Not copyrighted in the U.S.A. New York opening at the Park Avenue: 6 August 1948 (sic). U.S. release through Bell Pictures: 6 August 1948. U.K. release through General Film Distributors: 6 November 1944. Australian release through British Empire Films: 15 November 1945. 105 minutes. Cut to 100 minutes in Australia, 72 minutes in the U.S.A.
SYNOPSIS: Music hall proprietors fight to keep their houses open.
NOTES: This "visual feast" is available on an excellent Optimum DVD, either as a single or in a Tommy Trinder box set. Film debuts of Hazel Court, Kay Kendall and James Robertson Justice.
COMMENT: Little more than an excuse for turning loose Tommy Trinder and Stanley Holloway with some delightfully comic songs — including an amusingly extended feud which serves as the means of stringing together a whole series of drinking songs — this tribute to the 19th century music halls is rich in atmosphere, nostalgia and revelry.
In the main, director Cavalcanti is content to let the sets, the cleverly ambient photography and the music speak for themselves. Trinder is superb, but he is almost pipped by Holloway. Both performers are absolutely terrific!
Produced by Michael Balcon's Ealing Studios as a wartime morale booster, the reception for this prestige, no expense-spared- production was surprisingly lukewarm, both from professional critics and even a public that was generally highly supportive of Trinder's vehicles. His previous film, "The Bells Go Down" (1943) had been a sensational success. Trinder was overwhelmingly disappointed with this result. And when I was talking with him, many years later, he told me that he was "still shattered" by this film's lukewarm reception.
An Ealing Studios (London) Production. Not copyrighted in the U.S.A. New York opening at the Park Avenue: 6 August 1948 (sic). U.S. release through Bell Pictures: 6 August 1948. U.K. release through General Film Distributors: 6 November 1944. Australian release through British Empire Films: 15 November 1945. 105 minutes. Cut to 100 minutes in Australia, 72 minutes in the U.S.A.
SYNOPSIS: Music hall proprietors fight to keep their houses open.
NOTES: This "visual feast" is available on an excellent Optimum DVD, either as a single or in a Tommy Trinder box set. Film debuts of Hazel Court, Kay Kendall and James Robertson Justice.
COMMENT: Little more than an excuse for turning loose Tommy Trinder and Stanley Holloway with some delightfully comic songs — including an amusingly extended feud which serves as the means of stringing together a whole series of drinking songs — this tribute to the 19th century music halls is rich in atmosphere, nostalgia and revelry.
In the main, director Cavalcanti is content to let the sets, the cleverly ambient photography and the music speak for themselves. Trinder is superb, but he is almost pipped by Holloway. Both performers are absolutely terrific!
Produced by Michael Balcon's Ealing Studios as a wartime morale booster, the reception for this prestige, no expense-spared- production was surprisingly lukewarm, both from professional critics and even a public that was generally highly supportive of Trinder's vehicles. His previous film, "The Bells Go Down" (1943) had been a sensational success. Trinder was overwhelmingly disappointed with this result. And when I was talking with him, many years later, he told me that he was "still shattered" by this film's lukewarm reception.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
